Compared with IBM, Microsoft is a mere young company. Founded in 1975, it rose swiftly to dominate the world of personal computing with its Windows operating system and Office suite of word-processing and other productivity tools. But the company is now showing some worrying signs of middle-age fatigue. In particular, it is struggling to find a growth strategy that will enthuse disappointed shareholders.
Complaint are understandable. Since Steve Ballmer took over from Bill Gates as chief executive in 2000, Microsoft’s share price has decreased and the company has lost its reputation as a tech trend-setter. It has been left behind in hot areas such as search and social networking by younger companies, some of which love to thumb their noses at their older rival. Eric Schmidt, the executive chairman of Google, recently proclaimed that leadership in the tech world had passed from Microsoft and others to a "Gang of Four" fast-growing, consumer-oriented businesses: Google, Apple, Amazon and Facebook.
Few would object to that. The question is: what，if anything, can Microsoft do to change it In at least some respects, the company appears to be suffering from similar ailments to those that laid IBM low before Lou Gerstner was hired in 1993 to get it back on its feet. These include arrogance bred of dominance of a particular area-mainframe computers at IBM, personal computers at Microsoft—and internal fiefs that hamper swift change.
As IBM’s experience shows, recovery in the tech world is possible. And some observers see encouraging signs of progress at Microsoft. Sarah Rotman Epps of Forrester, a research firm, reckons that Windows 8, a forthcoming version of Microsoft’s operating system, could be a serious competitor to Google’s Android on tablet computers if the company can get it to market next year．Microsoft is also in far better shape financially than IBM was at its lowest point, so it can afford to splash out on acquisitions such as its recent $8.5 billion purchase of Skype, an internet-phone and video-calling service.
That bet and an alliance with Nokia in mobile phones show that Microsoft is trying to bulk up in promising areas. Yet sceptics worry that such initiatives are not the product of an comprehensive strategic vision, but are instead temporary moves designed to calm critics who fear Microsoft is drifting downwards. David Einhorn, a prominent hedge-fund manager whose fund holds shares in Microsoft, has publicly called for a change at the top of the firm, arguing that Mr Ballmer is "stuck in the past". So far, the company’s board, chaired by Mr Gates, has backed its chief executive. But if IBM’s history is a guide, Microsoft may yet end up jettisoning its leader.
According to the text, Microsoft’s younger competitors （）
A. will prevail over Microsoft
B. challenge Microsoft’s prestige
C. bring down Microsoft’s share price
D. show contempt for Microsoft
参考答案：D
解析：
[试题类型] 具体信息题。
[解题思路] 根据题干关键词younger competitors定位至第二段。该段第三句指出，在搜索和社交网络等热门领域，微软被年轻公司甩在身后，一些公司喜欢对这个年长的竞争对手不屑一顾。本题的解题关键在于理解thumb their noses(对……蔑视，不屑一顾)的含义。另外，末句也指出谷歌执行总裁埃里克·施密特认为高科技领域老大的位置已经由微软转移到谷歌等更年轻的公司。由此可看出埃里克·施密特自信满满，并未将微软放在眼里，故选项[D]为答案。
[干扰排除] 第二段第三句指出微软在有些热门领域(hot areas)已经落后于年轻公司，文中并未提及其他领域的情况，所以选项[A]“将战胜微软”与原文不符，故排除。该段第二句指出微软的现状，即“微软的股价一直低迷，公司已经失去了作为技术潮流领先者的名望”。但文中并未提及年轻公司挑战微软的威望，故排除选项[B]。文章也并未提及其股票低迷是由于新兴公司打压股价造成的，选项[C]属于无中生有，缺乏依据，故排除。